Passenger seats of vehicles typically include a headrest located at the top of the seat. The purpose of a headrests is increase the safety and comfort of the passenger by providing support to the back of the passenger's head. To accommodate for the differing heights among passengers, headrests are often designed to be adjustable in a vertical direction. Once the headrest is adjusted in the vertical direction, it is desirable to maintain the headrest at the desired height.
Airplane seat headrests face additional design requirements. For example, as commercial airline companies continue to seek new ways to decrease fuel costs, it is advantageous to produce a lightweight headrest that provides sufficient safety and comfort to the passenger. Additionally, headrests that have uncomplicated adjustment mechanisms provide the additional advantage of reducing maintenance time, and thus, increasing the amount of time the airplane is in service.